


Tomorrow After Tomorrow

by liketogetlost



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 05:31:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/618633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liketogetlost/pseuds/liketogetlost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wraps his arms around her and they're in their own universe. Outside of it all, outside of the disappearing stars and the zeppelins in the wrong sky and the man who keeps on playing hide and seek through time and space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tomorrow After Tomorrow

o1. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_ld360tXwGG1qzx538o1_500.jpg))

She hates the beach.

The way the ocean eats at the sand, pulling at it, reaching for it, eroding the land and swallowing it into its vast, seemingly never ending stomach. Why is it so hungry, why does it have to be so daunting, why does the horizon seem like a crack in the sky that she could drop into if she sailed far enough?

It just takes and takes and gives nothing back.

She hates it in the summertime, even. The bare feet burning in the sand and the children yelling as the waves threaten to tear them away from the world. Umbrellas and ice cream melting down arms, she used to love it all as a child. She remembers trying to lick the chocolate from a Cornetto off her elbow and laughing so hard she dropped the whole thing in the sand.

But every year she finds herself in Norway. Every year she finds herself standing in the same spot she lost her heart at, eyes closed, fists clenched, trying to feel him through worlds and she feels so bloody stupid sometimes she laughs even as her cheeks shine with her tears. 

All she can hear is the waves, all she can feel is the bite of the wind at her flesh and all she can see is the horizon, taunting her. 

The ocean has taken anything he'd left behind.

\- -

o2. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_ld2hygN4wP1qzcpipo1_500.jpg))

There's an artist in New York City who can't get her eyes right.

His hands hurt. His fingers are dark with charcoal, knuckles red with paint and his wrists scream at him to stop but there's a girl that walked through deadlocked traffic that had the saddest, most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen that no matter how much he tries he _can't fucking bloody get onto paper._

He smears blue across his forehead. In spite of the snow outside, he's sweating.

With shaking hands he tries again.

\- -

o3. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_l9uhr3NCEQ1qdyuq3o1_500.png))

The moment Rose sees the burning sign his grip on her hand tightens.

“Absolutely not.”

“Oh come on! It's just a bit of fun!” She pulls on his leather covered arm and the cloud of her breath dissipates quickly as he walks into it.

When they enter the tarot card reader's, the Doctor still hasn't let her hand go. Rose takes off her hat with the pom poms and blows a bit of hair out of her face as she smiles at the woman sitting at a small round table.

“Hello! We'd like a reading, please.” 

The Doctor thinks the reader looks like the stereotypical idea of a fortune teller. She's an old, slightly hunched over lady with long gray hair and a knowing, unsettling smile. She motions for them to sit and he rolls his eyes, letting Rose's hand go to pull out her chair.

“You first, young lady, yes?”

Rose nods.

Her hands shuffle the tarot deck faster than he thought the the old lady could move. He watches her hands as they fly in a beautiful blur, the colors of the cards mixing together and creating a murky rainbow. She asks Rose to cut the deck and she does, biting her bottom lip in anticipation. 

The reader tells Rose something, the Doctor doesn't know what. He suddenly can't seem to take his eyes off her. 

He's always been fond of watching her reactions to the things they encounter. If he's being honest it began because he's done and seen everywhere, everything, and through her eyes it all became new. But really he's become entranced with watching the way her eyes light up or the way they water and sadden. Captured by the curve of her mouth, obsessed with timing the beats between her breaths. 

Now she's totally distracted by the reader's words and all he can do is stare at her as she's told her future. A completely false future, at that, because no one knows where they'll go next, not even him. Nothing is predetermined, nothing is destiny. He knows that better than anyone.

She's chewing on the inside of her bottom lip, he can tell, the way her teeth move just above the cleft of her chin. His hearts begin to pound and he can't imagine why.

She's beautiful, yes. But it's more than that. There's something different about her. Something he can't fathom or understand or even place, it's like she's _glowing_ right there in front of him and then she stands, suddenly, knocking her hip against the table and the cards across its surface.

“I'm - I'm so sorry!” She's shaking, her eyes suddenly tearing up.

“Rose, are you alright?” The Doctor grabs her arm and places his hand at the small of her back.

“You are everything! You are everything!” The lady is shouting at them and pointing her wrinkled hand at the door. The Doctor turns to tell her to button it up when he sees the cards. Everyone of them is facing up, fanned around the table as if someone diligently placed them there.

Outside, Rose shakes her head and smiles as the Doctor gently grips her arms and asks her if she's alright. “No, yeah. I'm fine. I just felt a bit flush, is all.” Her pause is thick, weighted. He's waiting, but she doesn't ask. Just stomps her feet in the snow a little, trying to get her circulation going, and nods. “Um, I'd really like a cuppa, how about you?”

A cup of tea to forget her future. The Doctor smiles brightly and takes her hand. “A cuppa it is, then.”

\- -

o4. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/4215502339_c9a73116bc_z_large.jpg))

Sometimes the jumps literally almost kill her.

She hears the banshee call of the brakes after she sees his face beyond the headlights that swerve to her left. Her heart pounds like a drum and she's frozen to the spot, waiting for the jump to complete before she can move.

He emerges from the car, hair disheveled and bow tie askew, eyes wide with shock. There's a story on his tongue just like there's a question on hers. It's him. Of course she knows its him. For some reason, beyond everything, she wants to ask him why he's driving a bloody car.

The unspoken story and question meet when he grabs her face and kisses her, fingers a cold grip on her cheeks. There's a moment during the kiss when she lets herself sob into his mouth, and he just holds on tighter. Wraps his arms around her and they're in their own universe. Outside of it all, outside of the disappearing stars and the zeppelins in the wrong sky and the man who keeps on playing hide and seek through time and space.

It's just them. He almost ran her over. She's looking for him. They're on a country road, in the middle of winter. Later she'll read it on the monitors as having been three am. 

“Rose Tyler.” He says with a small grin when he pulls away. “What are you doing in the way of my car?”

She laughs, tears freezing her cheeks. “What are you doing driving a car?”

He rests his cheek on hers and growls inside his chest. “Goddammit, I have to go. Bit of a thing. With a yeti. Possibly. Long story.”

She nods. “Me too.” She laughs again. “Without the yeti bit.”

“Rose, Rose, Rose. Oh, Rose.” Another kiss, clumsy and fast and all freezing lips and warm tongues. Their breath mixes in the air in front of them when they pull away, she can see it.

She's gone before it fades.

Sometimes the jumps literally almost kill her.

\- -

o5. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_ld2bo0kyyQ1qbr5rdo1_500.jpg))

“You sure you don't want to ride The Gravitron again, Rose? I can show the ticket taker the psychic paper and we can go in alone!” The Doctor hip checks her and winks. “We could crawl across the walls!”

Rose turns around and tilts her head to the side. “Doctor, you said you wanted to ride every ride here. It's taken us three days, and we're doing it.”

“Three _linear days_ , Rose. I'm not sure how long it's actually taken us. Probably light years. Or maybe six months.” 

The line moves and Rose walks a couple feet closer to the ride. She shivers and bounces awfully adorably on her toes. The Doctor walks behind her and pulls his coat around her, holding her in his arms. “Better?” He breathes warm against her neck.

Rose turns round to look at him and grins. “Bit, yeah.”

“Might have to hug a little tighter, hmm? How's that?” His arms hug her tighter and he presses his nose into the back of her neck. She smells like cotton candy and warmth.

“Oi, the line's moved!” Someone behind them shouts and Rose turns, turning the Doctor along with her.

“Yeah, like a snail! What's your hurry, mate?” 

The Doctor chuckles into her hair as they shuffle further down the line together. “That's what's great about you, Rose. Your polite ways.”

“Shut up.” But she's laughing. 

They both stay silent for a while, just standing there being warm and wondering what the other is thinking. All around them kids shout and music plays, people chatter and trip over cable wires and the Doctor and Rose Tyler wait to get on a carnival ride.

“Hey, doncha think it's weird, though? The name of the ride? S'bit familiar.”

The Doctor blows a piece of Rose's hair out of his mouth and shrugs. “Coincidence, I suppose.”

“Since when do you believe in coincidences?”

“Since we're next in line, Rose Tyler. Are you going to back out on me now?” He nudges her forward and she laughs, missing his embrace already but walking ahead to give the taker her ticket. 

“ _Never_.”

They take their seats in the ride and when the safety bar comes down Rose squeaks, not out of fear but excitement. “Gonna hold my hand, right?” She reaches out for the Doctor to find he's already there.

The Doctor turns and grins, linking his fingers with hers as the ride begins to move. “Always.”

Later, she'll claim he screamed louder than her. 

A little later than that, he takes them back in time just to show her she's wrong.

o6. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_ld8e1zIUSN1qcwqaqo1_500.jpg))

“You've ruined my shoes.” 

His trainers lay on the floor near her bed, soaked through. They're not made for running a mile in a a snow storm, but they were better than her flats. Good thing he could control his body temperature long enough to let her wear them until they got back to the TARDIS. 

He's not really thinking about his shoes, though. He's thinking about how there's just a mist thin layer of stocking between his hands and her legs. Her legs, which are situated in his lap where he sits crossed legged on the bed. He's thinking about the tiny rectangles that are teasing him with a touch of Rose's skin on his palms. Her toes are still wet.

“'M sorry, we can get you new ones.” Rose has her eyes closed, her mouth forming a small slice of a smile. The curve of her bum presses into the lucky bed beneath her as she leans back on her hands. “Can't help I lost mine in the snow. Someone didn't tell me we'd be landing in the middle of a storm. Mmm.”

The Doctor grins as he rubs her cold, sore heel. There's a beautiful cave between her legs where her skirt beckons with its tempting darkness. She tries to keep her knees together but every time his hands slowly run up the length of her calf she sighs and parts them, just slightly, just enough to make him that much harder.

“Rose.” He doesn't know why he says her name, but he does. The butterfly wings of her eyelashes flutter at him, hazel honey colored eyes stare him down as she curls her toes in his palm. He can still see fire in those eyes. 

One finger follows a ladder in the gray stocking, stopping at her knee. He's not warming her feet any longer. This is different. She shivers, stretches, baring her neck as her head leans back and if this isn't an invitation he doesn't know what is. 

He presses a single kiss to the top of her foot. Lets his lips climb the steps of that ladder, reaching the top and raising an eyebrow in her direction. There's a flash of white as she bites her lip and giggles, bells in her chest, letting her arms collapse as she lays back flat on the bed.

He can taste her skin as he swipes his curious tongue along her inner thigh. She tastes like snow and harsh cold air and cinnamon. 

His fingers find a tear and he rips the stockings down the length of her left leg. A groan meets her thigh as he presses his mouth there, and she mumbles something to God as he lets his teeth scrape against her skin.

Soon her feet are warm and dry as she digs them into the small of his back.

o7. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblrlaqbicmarr1qzu0t9.jpg))

Once, he was reaching across the console as she leaned against it and the back of his hand brushed her stocking covered thigh. 

He didn't think he could blush anymore at his age, but he's sure that his cheeks went a few shades darker. Possibly his nose, as well.

He wasn't sure if she'd noticed but she'd hopped off the console with a grin and tugged on the leather sleeve of his jacket playfully. 

After that whenever she wore tights, his fingers itched to rip them off.

o8. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_l10ojl0cFL1qzzefvo1_500_large.jpg))

“I did a bit of graffiti as a kid.” Rose wrinkles her nose in a way that makes what she's said even more unbelievable. He can't see how someone who can make a face so cute could do something criminal.

“Oh yeah?”

He raises a eyebrow at her and she nods, laughing.

An hour later, they've both got spray paint cans in hand, writing obscene, stupid, or just plain silly things on buildings and road signs. They bare the cold, their laughter mixing in clouds in the air as they run from place to place leaving their mark. He only considers it might be a bad idea when he gets some red paint on one of his favorite swirly ties.

“Are we going to go back in time and fix this? Stop ourselves from being so juvenile?” Even as Rose asks she's defiling a stop sign with a Harry Potter reference. 

“Might have to, this time. Rose Tyler, you are a horrible influence on me.” 

o9. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_l0hr38xUKW1qzan0uo1_500_large.jpg))

There's a mom in London shopping with her children when she sees them get out of a car.

“Why'd you have to blow up so many bloody balloons?” The blonde woman kicks a yellow one into the brown slush at the curb.

“Because kids love balloons. And they love a lot of balloons.” The man is cheery as he bounces one off his palm into the backseat.

“No, Doctor, I think _you_ love a lot of balloons.” She finally gets the door shut without too many sneaking out and the mom smiles at the way the man takes her hand. 

“It's not my fault you forgot to buy Tony a present.” He kisses her quickly on the cheek and the blonde woman smiles.

“It's a bit hard to remember things when you're not living them in order.”

“Touche.”

They walk by her, hand in hand, and they smile at her and her children as they pass buy. 

When she looks down, every one of her kids are holding balloons.

10\. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/tumblr_l0ktqetjT71qb0wfxo1_500_large.jpg))

The Doctor has always loved a good story.

If he gets some weird looks from the parents, and frankly the children, sitting around the tiny bookstore as he listens to the lady with the finger puppets tell the tale of the curious six legged elephant Todd, well he doesn't even notice. He gasps at the scary parts, laughs at the funny parts, and might get a bit teary eyed here or there. At the end, he claps along with the kids and delights in the poor lost creature finding his family.

Everyone begins to leave but before they can the Doctor shouts and stands as he makes his way to the front and tells everyone to stay where they are.

“I've a story for you all, just sit back down!”

“Excuse me, who are you?” A store clerk asks him with a look that makes the Doctor think he'd be better suited working in a Alagorean prison than a children's bookstore.

The Doctor flashes the psychic paper and the storyteller's eyes lit up. “Mr. Pennington! You're one of the country's best children's authors!”

“Right! That's me, apparently.” The Doctor grins and sits on the little stool in front of the kids, trying not to tip over the miniature thing. He leans forward and clasps his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees. “So, do you kids want to hear another story?”

They shout out a resounding yes and the parent's resign themselves to yet another story, settling back down. The teller gestures towards him to go on with an adoring smile on her face and the clerk continues to look at him with a stern, alien glare. He'll have to look out for that one.

“Once upon – actually, sorry. Twice upon a time, well. Time, that's a tricky one. Because this story transcends time, and space, and impossibilities. It's more like three times upon a time but, well --”

A young boy in the second row raises his hand and the Doctor nods his way. “Is this a love story?”

“Oh, what a love story! This is nothing if not a story of love and what it can do. Of what can happen when one heart, well make that two hearts, finds another like it's own. How love can save you even when you're at your darkest and --”

Another child raises their hand and the Doctor cuts himself short. “Are there monsters?”

“Monsters! Are there monsters? There are more monsters than you can shake a stick at! But I'm getting ahead of myself, see. I haven't even gotten to the part about the beautiful heroine, the one who swings into her love's life and saves him. Keeps saving him, she does. And how she became the Big Bad Wolf and ended the great war.”

Before the Doctor is finished most of the adults are crying and the kids look like he's told them Santa Claus doesn't exist.

“Ah! But! See, the heroine fights her way back. She fights the monsters and the darkness and she finds him. She finds him and when he sees her everything that felt terrible and bad inside just falls away, because she's there and running towards him and yes, they run again. They run and – and – he takes her in his arms. Takes her in his arms and holds her close, and there's no more monsters or horribleness because they're together again and he tells her, tells her the words he couldn't say before. And they laugh, and he takes her hand so they can run together and oh -” 

His voice changes, his throat clenching at his last words. “He never lets her go.”

11\. ([pic](http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz178/takethewords/PROMPTS/19728259_large.png))

Rose wipes mascara from her cheeks and curses herself for not going with the waterproof that day. People pass her where she stands on the pavement and narrow their eyes at the young girl in the red gown crying in the middle of New York city.

She can feel Pete behind her without looking, and she doesn't turn because he's seen her cry more often than not in their short time together.

“I'm sorry, I just. I couldn't be in there any longer.” There, being a fancy dress Vitex launch party for the big campaign for the new line in America. The way the people stared at her like she'd just popped into the universe before their eyes, well. They weren't too far off.

“It's alright, Rose. I told you you didn't have to come.” Pete puts her coat over her, resting a hand on her shoulder and she feels bad, but she wants him to pull away. His comforting touch is just another reminder that no one here was meant to touch her, no one here was ever meant to see her. She doesn't belong on this world, and more than that, if _he_ was here, it wouldn't matter.

“Thought it would help me get my mind...” Rose trails off, and turns suddenly to look into Pete's concerned eyes. “I can't stay here. I mean, here. This world. I have to find a way back.” Pete starts to speak but she interrupts him. “I know what you're going to say, but I'll find a way. The Doctor was always wrong about things he said were impossible.” She laughs, and shakes her head. “It's mad, but it's because it's mad that I know it's possible.”

Pete smiles. “My mad daughter.”

Something inside hitches at his use of that word, but Rose pushes it down because she knows he's being sincere. She takes his hand and gives it a squeeze. 

“I think I'm gonna head back to the hotel.”

“Let me hail down a taxi for you.” He starts to stretch out his hand but she stops him.

“I think I'll walk.” Rose smiles at him and turns to cross the street, the chill of the wind on her face like an affirmation. 

“I'll be alright on my own.”

\- -


End file.
